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Nintendo’s 3DS has been a big success for it on the whole and it’s released several different versions and spinoffs for it to help capitalize on the little handhelds popularity. The newest version of it has only been released in Japan, and has been a great hit, on track for over a million sales by the end of the year.
This newest version, which the west awaits word when it will receive, has added right across the board in things like additional controls, improving the screen and CPU, better battery life and built-in support for the Amiibo’s that Nintendo is selling lately. The tiny analogue stick on the right side is something that seems like it’s out of fiction instead of a real thing.

They’ve been so popular in fact in Japan, in particular the larger New 3DS XL, that they have ended production of the ‘old’ 3DS XL completely on the according to the Nintendo Japan website. That is for all colours of the old 3DS XL and will mean that in the not too distant future it will be harder to find it in Japan. The old ‘normal’ 3DS though will stay on for now in some select colours – Clear Black, Metallic Red, and Gloss Pink.

It is likely that Nintendo of Japan still has some stock of them left and will be selling these for a while to companies and people interested in it. Production ending is almost certainly based on the strong sale numbers of the New 3DS, and likely corresponding drop in the older ones.

What isn’t also known at this point is when the West will get the New 3DS and New 3DS XL. It won’t be before the end of the year, and it is likely then that it will be targeted sometime in 2015 for release. Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe, unsurprisingly have not announced any plans to stop producing the Nintendo 3DS or 3DS XL. Whether they will do so when the New 3DS and New 3DS XL get across the ocean is a question of open speculation at this point.

What are your thoughts on the New 3DS and 3DS XL? What about some of its more unique features? Do you think Nintendo is right to end production of their older line so quickly after the newcomers release?

Special thanks to Tanis for providing an up-to-date translation on the Nintendo Japan page and catching that it is not ending production any more but it has ended!

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I've been a gamer for years of various types starting with the Sega Genesis and Shining Force when I was young. If I'm not playing video games, I'm often roleplaying, reading, writing, or pondering things brought up by speculative fiction.